Payback is a  Pineapple?
by Cokie316
Summary: Steve McGarrett promised payback was coming.   And Steve always keeps his promises.


_**Payback is a…Pineapple? **_

_**By Cokie**_

_**Sequel to "A Cracked Mind" and "Mending the Cracks"… This silly arc is now completed.**_

_**Not that these stories have made sense, but if you want to understand where this came from, you might want to read both of those stories before attempting this one.**_

_**As usual, I do not own any of the recognizable characters. I did insert a couple of my own though. Once again, special thanks to Sockie 1000 and Rogue Tomato for many endless betas of this story.**_

The day was a perfect one, even by Hawaiian standards. Bright blue skies and, at 7 a.m. on this Saturday, it was already a balmy 82 degrees. Steve McGarrett emerged from the ocean near the back of his house, shaking the water from his hair. He walked across the sand and picked up his towel, first wiping his eyes, before catching the water droplets running down his chest.

Steve turned and looked back at the water. It was going to be a good day. He flexed his knee and didn't feel even a twinge of pain. His leg had been injured a few weekends ago in a _covert tactical raid_. The brace on his leg had come off on Wednesday, and beginning that evening, he started swimming both morning and night to help strengthen his knee.

That was his story and he was sticking to it.

No one other than his team and the governor knew he was really taken down by a wayward golf cart.

Losing the brace had been the final reminder of that weekend from hell. Well, not exactly the final one. There was the fact of a certain video that needed to be dealt with. But even that was about to change.

As promised… payback was coming. Steve smiled and walked toward his house. Payback was also very, very sweet.

~~~H50~~~

Steve arrived for lunch before his guests and took a garden table at the Shipman House Bed and Breakfast. He checked out the other guests who were milling around, pegging them all as tourists. The inn catered to the tourist crowd and also to the locals who loved a good meal in a beautiful setting. The house faced the ocean, the beach only a stone's throw from the structure's spacious, wrap-around porch. Tables were set up on the wide porch and also in the adjacent garden area.

"Uncle Steve!"

He turned in his chair. "Hey, Grace. Come here. Are you hungry?"

She greeted him with a hug, and then plopped down on a chair next to him. "Yep."

"This kid is always hungry," Danny said with a grin as he sat down on the other side of his daughter. "Thanks for the lunch invite. This is a neat place."

"Not a problem. Hadn't seen my friend Gracie in a couple of weeks and I missed her."

"I missed you, too. Guess what?"

"What? Tell me." Steve propped his elbow on the table, chin in his hand to listen to her story.

"I won the spelling bee this week. My word was _**kakahiaka**_ and everyone else got it wrong."

"Wow. And you spelled it right?"

"Why can't they use normal spelling words in school?" Danny groused.

Steve looked at him. "It is a normal word. It means—"

Danny put both hands to his ears. "Don't want to hear it. Any word you have to qualify with 'it means', is just not normal. End of discussion."

"Why'd you bring Grumpy with you today, Gracie?" Steve asked, pointing his thumb at his partner.

"Well, he wouldn't let me drive, so I had to let him come," she replied with an impish grin.

"You've got a mouth just like your dad's, you know that?"

"That's my daughter you're talking to, mister."

"Obviously."

Grace ignored their argument and continued, "But Danno's probably mad because of the prize I won."

"What kind of prize did you get?" he asked, his brow furrowing between his eyes, looking from the girl to her father.

"I got to bring GiGi home for the weekend. Only Mommy wasn't really happy about it and StepStan said she either had to stay in the garage or go to Daddy's apartment."

Williams leaned across the table and muttered, "So… wanna guess who is the proud guardian of a rat this weekend?"

Grace rolled her eyes. "GiGi's a hamster, Daddy."

"OK, sorry, please forgive…she's a hamster," he grumbled before covering Grace's ears with his hands. "It's a hairy rat. Just like StepStan."

Steve grinned at him, but their discussion was interrupted by the waitress delivering water and their menus.

While Danny was discussing entrees, aka, flirting with the young woman, Steve leaned toward the little girl. "Hey, I've got a surprise for you."

Her eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah, just wait a few minutes. You're gonna love it." He winked at her.

"And what are you two conspiring over there," Williams asked.

Grace giggled. "Nothing."

Steve turned on his best, innocent face. "Nothing. Are we ready to order?"

It didn't take long for the food to be delivered and eaten with relish. "Man, this is good," Danny told him. "How'd you find this place?"

"I don't know. It's just always been here," Steve replied while stealing a strawberry that had toppled from Grace's shortcake.

"Hey!"

"Hey, what?" he shot back at her. "I didn't do anything."

"Leave my food alone," she warned.

"Oh, yeah, what are you going to do about it," he asked, his spoon poised for another attack.

"I'll sic Danno on you."

"Ooh, now I'm scared. For that I'm taking a bigger bite!"

"Stevie, leave the keiki alone!" A familiar hand grabbed the scruff of his neck and he leaned back to see the smiling face behind him.

"Auntie Leilana!" He stood up and wrapped his arms around the older woman, kissing her on the top of her head. "I want you to meet my friends, Danny and Grace Williams. This is Leilana Yamanaka and she has always been a second makuahine to me."

Grace turned to Danny and whispered, "That means 'mother'."

"Thank you, Oh-Great-Spelling-Queen." He stood and shook the newcomer's hand. "So, you've known this scaliwag for a while, huh?"

"Oh, only since I was changing his diapers." The pretty Hawaiian woman beamed at Steve, her love for him obvious.

"Okay, that's enough," Steve laughed. "No more talk. We're done."

"Is it okay if I call you Uncle Stevie?" Grace asked, her eyes sparkling as she stared at him.

"No, it is _**not**_ okay."

She grinned at him. "Don't get grumpy like Danno."

"Tell me, were those diapers camo print?" Danny asked grinning as Steve made a grumpy face at Grace.

"No questions, Danny. Auntie Leilana is Kapena's mom. He was my best friend growing up and we were pretty much inseparable."

"That they were," she agreed, her arm on Steve's shoulder, her hand rubbing circles on the back of his neck. "Not a summer went by that they didn't get into some kind of trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" Grace asked.

"Yes, pray tell, what kind?" Danny repeated, grinning in anticipation.

Steve held out the empty chair for her and she sat down, thinking, "Well, let me see—"

"Nothing much," Steve tried to keep her from answering. "We had great summers… swam a lot, Mamo taught us how to surf, and we explored caves and played on the rocks. It was good fun."

"Um… not hearing about any trouble in there," Danny prodded. "We need details. Ones we can possibly use at a later date."

Leilana smiled and sighed as she began reminiscing about their escapades. "They would leave after breakfast and we wouldn't see them again until sundown. Steve is right, they would explore and get dirty, rinse off in the ocean and then get dirty all over again. Back then, you could trust that no one would harm your kids, so we didn't really worry about them and let them play."

She reached over and placed her hand on Steve's arm. "But these two, well, they had trouble written all over them. One summer night they came home and said they were sleeping in the pup tent out back. I called Stevie's parents and it was OK with them, but the boys were acting really strange. Didn't see much of this one," she moved her hand upward and shook Steve's shoulder, a frown on her face. "Said he didn't want dinner, which should have been a big red flag right there! I could hear Kapena skulking around the house and putting things in his knapsack. When I was getting ready for bed I heard him in the kitchen again, getting ice from the freezer. My motherly instinct could stand no more so I went out the front door and snuck around to the back to see what they were doing."

"She was spying," Steve interrupted.

"You bet I was," she agreed, and then turned back to Grace. "Stevie had his arm in one of my big pots that Kapena had filled with ice." Her hand slid from his shoulder and she patted his arm. "And let me tell you, this arm was one ugly color of purple and swollen twice its size."

"Ouch," Grace commiserated**. **"How did you hurt your arm?"

"Well, I, ah, we were daring each other to do crazy things and Kapena dared me to climb a coconut tree all the way to the top and touch the coconuts. I shimmied up there and touched it, but when I was climbing back down, one of the coconuts fell and hit me in the head. I fell the rest of the way down, landed on my arm and broke it."

"See…!" Danny had both hands in the air to make his point. "I told you those things could kill!" he exclaimed. "And you laughed at me."

"It didn't kill me."

"No," Leilana continued. "But you silly boys thought you could hide that arm from us. That worked out well, didn't it?"

"It was worth a try," he grinned at her. "But _**someone**_," he nodded his head in Leilana's direction, "called my parents and ratted me out. Dad came over, took one look and dragged me to the emergency room that night. Had to wear that itchy cast for six weeks."

"So…let me get this straight," Danny began. "When you got knocked in the head with a rock and fell and broke your arm, that wasn't the first time something like that had happened?"

Steve ducked his head and didn't reply, but the sheepish grin gave him away.

"Steven!" Leilana said. "You're still breaking bones?"

"Ma'am, I can vouch for that one," Danny replied. "Yes, he is."

"Tell us another Steve story," Grace asked.

"Gracie, are you trying to embarrass me?" Steve asked.

"I just want to hear funny stories," she replied. "Just one more, Auntie Leilana, please?"

Danny agreed. "One more story. I need ammunition to use against him," he told her with a grin.

She looked to Steve, thinking what she would tell them. "How about the time you got your toe stuck in the water spigot in the back yard?"

"Auntie, that's just wrong," he told her, laughing along with her.

"OK, give," Danny told her, laughing along with them. "That sounds pretty good."

She shook her head. "I was in the house and heard them yelling. I didn't know if they were laughing or fighting, but I went outside and found this one on the ground with his toe stuck in the water spigot."

"Got an answer for that one, Stevie?" Danny asked.

Steve made a face at him. "I don't know, I was maybe eight. No one knows why eight year olds do the crazy things they do."

"Did you hear that, Gracie? Wanna tell Uncle Steve how old _**you**_ are?"

She crossed her arms across her chest. "I'm eight, too!"

"OK, OK, eight year old boys. No one knows what they do, right Grace?"

"That's better." She turned back to Leilana. "How did you unstick his toe?"

"My husband came home from work and we removed the spigot from the water line. Had to grease up his foot before finally pulling the spigot off."

"And you twisted my toe and it hurt!" Steve exclaimed.

She laughed once again. "Well, silly boy, whose fault was it? Like I said, we just never knew what they would do next."

"OK, that's enough humiliating stories, because…" Steve looked at the girl. "Grace, we have a surprise for you."

"We do?" Danny asked, his brow knit in a frown. "What surprise?"

He turned to the little girl and smiled. "Remember a couple months ago when you asked to take hula lessons?"

"Yes, Danno said he would find me a teacher," the young girl said.

"Well, guess the name of the absolute _**best**_ hula teacher on this entire island?

"I don't know," she shrugged.

"My Auntie Leilana. She has been teaching for years, and she has agreed to include you," he reached over and tugged on a pigtail, "in this afternoon's class."

"I teach classes every Saturday right up there," she told them, pointing toward the house.

"Leilana, this is great," Danny said. "Thank you, Steve. Grace will love it, won't you?"

"Yes!" She jumped from her chair and wrapped her arms around Steve's neck. "Thank you, thank you."

"But that's not all. Auntie Leilana teaches 'Couples Hula'. You get to learn to hula with Danno." He cut his eyes toward his partner and grinned. "Won't that be fun?"

"Hold it," Danny held up a hand, shaking his head. "I so don't think so." His hands swept downward. "This body does not hula. You know," he pointed to his leg, "the knee and all**." **

"Hula is a very good form of exercise," Leilana told him. "Easy on the joints. Come, you will love it."

"Um, sorry, but no, I won't love it. And, no offense, but I'm not doing it." He crossed his arms over his chest in a defiant pose. "Not going to happen."

"Nonsense," she argued. "Besides, Miss Grace here needs a partner."

"Well, then. Her 'Uncle Stevie' can be her partner. McGarrett, this was your idea, so you and 'Miss Grace' can get up there and shake a leg, or cut a rug or whatever you do out here."

"Danny, I've known how to hula since grade school, so I don't need lessons. We learned different hulas every year in PE class."

"And I've got the videos to prove it," Leilana added. "My Steve is a good dancer. In fact, he and my daughter, Anela won the trophy two years in a row."

"Trophies, you say?" He turned to Steve with a snarky grin. "Twinkletoes, I'm sure that talent served you well in the SEALs."

"Elementary school, Danny. Not the SEALs."

"Then maybe Grace needs to learn at school. Without her father," he glared at his partner.

"Daddy," Grace whined. "It will be fun. I want to learn with you."

"Baby, I don't want to get up there with a bunch of people and learn to dance. I'll just watch you."

Leilana walked around the table and grabbed his arm. "Come. These people are tourists, you will never see them again." She hauled him upright and pushed him in the direction of the porch. "I'll show you – it will be fun."

"Not," he muttered as he passed McGarrett. "I am so gonna get you for this." He stopped mid-step and turned back around. "I know what this is. You're paying me back for the video, aren't you?"

"What are you talking about, Danno?" Steve looked confused, shaking his head. "I saw Auntie in the grocery the other day and she said she was still teaching and I remembered what Grace said, so I wanted to surprise her." He folded his arms over his chest and added, "Sorry. I didn't realize you would be so disagreeable about the whole thing."

"I'm not being disagreeable with her, you moron," Danny hissed. "But I do not…repeat _**not**_ want to do this."

"Come on, you'll have fun. Hey, if it makes you self-conscious, I'll leave. How about that?"

Danny huffed as Grace began tugging on his arm. "Come on, Danno. She's going to start soon."

"All right, I'm coming." He turned back to his partner. "But you get out of here. And not a word of this to anyone, you hear?"

"Who me?" Steve placed his palm against his chest. "Why would I tell anyone? You're just having fun with your daughter on a Saturday afternoon. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that I don't trust you," Williams muttered, his pointer finger hitting Steve's chest.

"Watch, I'm leaving," McGarrett replied, beginning to backpedal. "I won't even be here to witness it. Now, get up there and have fun," he urged, waving his arms in the direction of the house. "Come on, Danny, just look how excited Gracie is."

"I know," Danny agreed. "So, for that, I thank you."

Grace came back for him and grabbed his hand, once again tugging on him.

He grinned down at his daughter. "If I survive this, guess I'll see you Monday."

"Yeah, you'll do great," Steve assured him. "You two have a good weekend."

Steve waved to Grace and turned to head for his truck. It was good that Danny did not see the near-feral grin he could no longer contain.

~~~H50~~~

Steve arrived back at the B&B near dusk. After parking his truck, he pulled out a large shopping bag from the back seat. With another grin of satisfaction, he locked up and went in search of his prey…um, friend.

Williams spotted him and met him half way, hands in his pockets and a glare in his eyes. "Just so you know, thanks to you, I have spent the most humiliating day in the history of mankind."

"No kidding. Then it must rank right up there with watching your drugged out self asking the governor to play spin the bottle." Steve said, the evil glint back in his eyes.

"I knew it!" Both arms flew up into the air before landing on his head, pushing his hair back into place. "No matter how long and how loudly you proclaim your innocence, I knew all along this wasn't done out of the goodness of your heart. You set me up."

Steve set down the bag and placed both hands on his chest. "Danny, you wound me."

"No, Steven, I have not wounded you. Yet… But you've had your fun. Let me collect my daughter so I can get out of this horrid place."

He turned to see Grace skipping along, holding on to Auntie's hand. "Danno, this is going to be so cool," she told him upon reaching them. She hugged Steve once again. "Thank you so much for my lessons. Now I get to show you how good we did."

"Do you have everything, Monkey? You can show Steve your dance steps later. We need to get out of Mrs. Yamanaka's hair and plan what we're doing tonight."

"Daniel, you can't leave. Your lesson isn't over yet. Didn't you hear my announcement about the competition?" Lailana asked him.

"Say what? That's not mandatory, right?" He glanced at her before whipping his head back around to his partner. "You knew this, didn't you?" The finger was poking into McGarrett's chest once again. "There is no way I will compete in a hula routine in front of people. You got that?"

"Daddy, we have to," Grace grabbed his hand and looked up to him with puppy dog eyes. "Please, please, please. Maybe we can win the trophy. I _**know**_ we can."

Danny sat down at the picnic table and drew Grace toward him. "Look, Sweetie, we really need to go. I'm sorry, but Danno cannot perform hula in public."

"It's just Uncle Steve. Who cares if anyone else sees us. We don't know the rest of them," she pouted.

"She's right," Steve agreed, sitting down next to his partner. "It's just me, Danny. But if you don't want to do it, I'm sure you can explain it to Grace and we'll all go home."

"Nonsense," Auntie told him. Leaning in close, she whispered to Grace, "I watched everyone dance and I think you have the competition aced."

"And just who votes for this competition?" Danny asked.

"Only the audience," she quickly replied. "But it is a fun night. The competition is the opening act, and then we have the luau to celebrate. A real Hawaiian evening with music, torches, dancers, the whole works. You'll love it. I already turned in the count for dinner assuming you would be here, but let me know what you decide." Lailana turned to go back into the house.

"I get to dance at a real luau! Danno, this is so cool. I can't wait to tell Laila and Tommy at school on Monday."

Danny knew he was beat. Nothing new…he had known it from his daughter's first 'please'. But he had to complain about it for a little while longer. And place blame where it was most certainly due.

"Okay, we'll stay and dance," he told her, putting his forehead against hers. "But young lady…you owe me, you hear me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, let's see, our next weekend together, we will _**not**_ accept any calls from that big goof," he pointed in Steve's general direction, "for any reason whatsoever. I don't care if he calls saying he's having lunch with that Justin Berber fellow. We will _**not**_ listen to him."

"It's Bieber," she corrected, then turned to McGarrett. "And you better not have lunch with Justin without me."

"I don't even know what a Bieber is," he told the little girl. "And if I'm lucky, I never will."

She rolled her eyes at him then turned back to her dad. "What else do I owe you?"

He touched his cheek with his finger and smiled at her. "A big fat kiss, right there."

"Got it, Danno!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Grace, since you're in competition tonight, I thought you needed something appropriate to wear." Steve reached into the shopping bag and pulled out a smaller gift bag adorned with sea shells.

"For me?" she asked, her excitement barely contained.

"Yep." He handed it to her. "Open it."

"Steven, you have lovely wrapping skills," Danny snarked.

McGarrett made a face at him as Grace pulled out sheet after sheet of colorful tissue paper. "The girl at the shop did it."

Danny's reply was stifled when Grace shrieked. "A hula skirt. Thank you, Uncle Steve." He was attacked with another hug before she turned to show her dad. "Look, Danno – its shorts with a grass skirt attached."

Steve smiled at her. "There's more in there, so dig further."

Danny turned to him. "So help me, if you bought her those coconut thingies for up here," he motioned to his own chest, "I _**will**_ kill you."

"Nah, she's just a kid, Danno. No way to hold up the coconuts."

Danny stood up and punched him in the arm. "That's my daughter you're talking about, moron."

"Oh, wow, look! It's got a pineapple on it," Grace gushed when she saw the yellow leotard top with a glittery, sequined pineapple on it. "I love it! Can I go put it on?" she asked excitedly.

"Sure, Monkey. Can't wait to see how you look in it."

"Hang on just a sec, Grace. Want to see what I got Danno?"

"Yes!"

"Steven…if there is a grass skirt in there, you will be hung with it. Just fair warning."

"Really, Danny. Me buying you a skirt would be a little weird, don't you think?"

"Then I thank you—"

Steve pulled out a box shaped like shirt. A Hawaiian shirt. With flowers all over it.

"—Not. I'm not even going to open it."

"Sure you are. If you're going to be Grace's partner, you can't wear what you have on right now. Wouldn't look right."

"I look fine. Put that back in the bag."

"I have lived here pretty much my entire life," Steve began. "And I have never seen anyone dance while wearing a tie. Especially like that thing hanging around your neck. Really, Danny. Do you sleep in a tie, too? What is it, like a security blanket or something?" He looked back down at Danny's daughter. "Grace, you want to open it since Danno won't?"

"Sure." The top was quickly lifted and she exclaimed, "Cool! We'll match. Look at your shirt, Danno, isn't this great?"

Williams glanced down to see what was in the box, then looked to Steve, sending daggers in the other man's direction. "I. Will. Not. Wear. THAT."

Steve pulled the shirt from the box and shook it out. It was a putrid shade of yellow. Decorated with huge gold, brown and green pineapples splattered in abandonment over it. Danny wanted to throw up just looking at it.

He raised his eyes from the shirt to his partner's face. The man was getting way too much enjoyment from this escapade. "You are dead meat, do you hear me?"

"Don't know what you're talking about, Danny. I'm just remembering my picture up on the screens in our office. And wasn't that the governor giving me a lecture? Just sayin'…"

Danny got in his partner's face and kept his voice low, hopefully out of Grace's range. "I. So. Hate. You. This is low, Steven."

"Nah, this is fun," McGarrett grinned at him, this time, punching him on the arm.

"Steven, play nice," Leilana warned him, rejoining the group. "So, what's the verdict?"

"Danno, plleeaaassseee?"

"Yeah, Danno, plleeaaassseee," Steve mimicked her.

Danny rolled his eyes and looked down at his daughter. "Only for you, Grace. It has nothing to do with this piece of pond scum standing right here."

"Thanks, Daddy. Auntie look at what Uncle Steve bought me. Can I go change clothes?"

"Of course. Those are beautiful, Keiki."

Steve tossed the shirt to Williams. "Just look at how cute Danno's going to be. Hold it up there, Danny."

"Oh, it is perfect. You match," Leilana cooed at him. "Now, scoot. Go get ready. They are lighting the tiki torches. We have to get the competition begun so that dinner can get underway. You'll love it. Come." She hustled him along, holding on to his arm.

"I'm just gonna find a table over here and wait for your performance," Steve called to his partner. "Break a leg, Danno."

"Bite me, Steven."

"Boys!"

~~~H50~~~

Grace came out of the inn and found her father leaning against the porch railing waiting for her. He had on his khakis and the pineapple shirt, his arms folded over his chest, trying to look inconspicuous.

With that shirt on, inconspicuous was not in the neighborhood.

He glanced down and saw her sad face. "Hey, Baby. What's wrong? He dropped down to her level and looked her in the eyes.

She shrugged. "Nothing," she told him. "But I called Mommy and told her about our competition and asked her to come so she could vote for us, but she said that since StepStan was out of town, she was meeting some friends for dinner. She can't come."

Danny took a deep breath, thanking God for small favors. "I'm sorry, Monkey. You'll just have to show mom your steps at home. How about if we buy the CD of hula dances they sell inside. That way, you can dance one of the songs you learned today."

"But it won't be the same without you."

"Gracie, trust me, your mother will not want to watch me dance. Hula or otherwise."

"That's OK. At least Steve will be here. He'll vote for us.

Leilana came out onto the porch. "All right, everyone. Places out on the grass." She clapped her hands. "Wiki wiki. Let's go."

Danny took Grace's hand and whispered. "She's a slave driver, isn't she?"

Grace giggled. "Yeah, I bet Steve really was afraid of her."

"Yeah, he was just a scaredy-cat SuperSeal."

~~~H50~~~

The music stopped. Danny realized that he had actually made it through the dance routine with Grace. His little girl had been flawless. He couldn't say that about his own performance, but he didn't count. He had survived. And with little or no humiliation. He looked out into the audience, searching for his partner, but the night was dark and the lights from the tiki torches hindered his view.

The announcer told the audience to vote for their favorite team of dancers by clapping when their names were called. He began at the other end of the lineup. Each of the five other teams received a smattering of applause, from their families or friends they had met on the island.

Grace tugged on Danny's hand. "Uncle Steve is the only one who will vote for us," she told him quietly. "So we won't win."

"I don't know, Grace," he shook his head. "You really nailed all your moves. I think we've got a good shot. But it's okay if we don't win, right? We had fun together."

She smiled at him. "Yeah, we did. Thanks, Danno."

The announcer came down the line to them. "And our last performers, Grace and Danny Williams."

Wild cheering erupted from the far left side of the table area. Clapping and cat calls begging for an encore were also heard. The rest of the crowd went wild as well, joining in with clapping.

"Danno? Who _**is**_ that?"

"I'm not sure, Gracie. I hate to break it to you, but I might have to hurt your Uncle Steve."

The announcer turned to them. "Congratulations! It sounds unanimous! You win the prize!"

Leilana followed him and placed leis around both their necks and kissed their cheeks. "What did I tell you, Keiki," she whispered to Grace as she hugged her. She then presented each of them with a trophy, a dancing hula couple emblazoned in gold perched on top.

As she hugged Danny, he whispered, "You might want to hug McGarrett one last time because after tonight, he's gonna disappear. I swear, he'll be fish bait, so don't even bother looking for him."

She patted his cheek. "You're good for him, Daniel. Thank you."

He grinned and shook his head at her as the other contestants came and congratulated them on their win. Steve came up, too, and stood right in front of him, grinning, with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Nice flowers, Danno." Steve smirked at his partner.

Danny drew a circle around his own face with his finger. "This is me, not speaking to you." He turned and accepted a hug from one of the other participants, ignoring his partner.

As the people thinned out, Danny heard clapping once again. He looked up into a sea of familiar faces. 'Oh, no, no. I heard the clapping, but I thought you bribed the other guests. I can't believe you did this."

"Did what?" Steve asked innocently. "Lunch was so good, I thought I would invite a few friends for dinner. Must have slipped my mind that you and Grace would be performing tonight."

"You are dead meat."

"Quaking in my boots," Steve shot back, and then reached down and snatched up Grace and twirled her around. "You were the belle of the ball, young lady. You did great."

"Yes, you were wonderful," another familiar voice chimed in.

"Mommy! But you said—"

"Yes, I said I was having dinner with friends." She pointed at all the people. "And here I am."

"Thank you for coming. Look at my trophy. Isn't it cool? Danno's got one, too."

"It is very cool, Grace. I'm proud of both you and your father." She looked over her daughter's head to see Danny staring at her. She smiled at him. "Congratulations, Daniel. Well done."

"It was all Grace, not me," he assured her with a grin.

"Not from what we saw," Chin told him. "You've got some moves, Brah."

"Yeah, I know who I'll get the next time I need a dance partner," Kono assured him, reaching in for a hug.

"My dancing days are over," Danny assured them.

"Nice shirt, Bruddah," Kamekono told him. "Does that come in XXXL?"

"I don't know and I don't care, _**Bruddah**_. You can have this one to decorate your Icy Bar if you want. Otherwise, it may land in that fire pit before the night is over."

Their laughter filled the air, followed by the announcer telling everyone that the food line was beginning. To honor the winners of the hula competition, Grace and Danny and their friends were first in line.

"Even better," Steve said, holding out his hand for Grace. "Grace, may I be your escort tonight?"

"Hey, sorry, Pal," Danny pushed him aside. "She's my dance partner, ergo she's my date. You go get your own. You've done enough for one day…really. More than enough."

After everyone had sat back down at the table, their plates loaded with food, Danny warned their friends not to worry if McGarrett didn't answer his phone the next day. "He's going to take a little trip. Up river."

"Sounds ominous," Chin replied.

"You know, none of this would have happened if a certain video tape hadn't been leaked," Steve reminded them.

"Hey, don't look at me," Danny replied. "Chin has it on his phone, too."

"Danny own up to it. Your video, your responsibility. Don't go blaming Chin Ho."

"What kind of video?" Grace asked.

Steve grinned at her. "Gracie, would you believe that your Danno took some pictures of me when I was… sick and then showed them to the governor and Chin and Kono? Don't you think that was mean?"

"You mean the pictures of you with the bottle on your nose?" she asked. "That was pretty cool. And really funny. Everybody in my class laughed."

A pin dropping could have been heard at the table.

"Um, Grace…" Danny slowly reached his arm around her head, clamping his hand over her mouth.

Steve set his fork on the table and wiped his mouth with his napkin. He slowly placed the napkin back on the table and folded his hands, leaning toward the young girl. "Grace? Why did people at school see my picture?" Steve's voice was calm. Too calm. From Danny's perspective, much, much too calm.

She mumbled behind her father's hand.

"Danny, please let your daughter speak. And breathe. She's turning blue."

"Sorry, Baby." Danny looked down at her. "But do you remember what I said about the video?" he whispered.

She nodded, and then whispered back, "I'm sorry, Danno. You said it was a secret."

"That you have just announced to..." he looked around the long table, "pretty much everyone we know."

"Gracie? School? My video?" The steely glare was back.

"I needed a 'show and tell'," she began, bravely looking him in the eye. "Everyone thought the video was so cool. Then we all tried it, but no one could do it as good as you. You must have had lots of practice to get that good, Uncle Steve. Will you show me how sometime?"

"Good save, Grace," Danny told her. "Begging is always appropriate."

"Like I said, she's your kid," McGarrett muttered. He turned when he saw Auntie Leilana move toward their table, but his smile of greeting changed when she grabbed his ear. "Ow, ow, ow! Auntie, what's that for?" He reached up to rub his ear when she released it.

"It looks to me like you rigged this competition tonight, inviting all these people," she replied, waving her hand down the table. "And I learned from Daniel that you lured him here under false pretenses. You should be ashamed of yourself."

He looked at his friends sitting around the table and then looked back at her and grinned. 'Yeah, maybe I should be." He glanced at Danny and shook his head, adding, "But I'm not. It was all worth it."

She shook her head and hugged his shoulders. "You haven't changed a bit."

"Auntie?" Danny placed his hand on her arm. "I'll be over Monday after work to pick up those tapes you have."

"What tapes?" Steve asked.

"Oh, nothing. She mentioned that she has everything on VHS from when her kids were young and she would like them transferred to DVD. It just so happens that I have a recorder that will copy one to the other, so to thank her for today's lesson, I volunteered to make the copies for her."

"Monday is wonderful, Daniel. I really appreciate it. I miss seeing the tapes of all my grown babies."

"And, Steve, if there is any footage of you in there, I'll be sure to flag a copy for you to see, okay?" He grinned at his partner.

McGarrett gave him the death glare, eyebrows knit together. "You know this has escalated into war, don't you?"

Danny shrugged. "Possibly."

"May I remind you that only one of us has combat training?"

"Which of us has Auntie on his side?" Danny asked.

Steve turned to look at her, a wounded look on his face. "Auntie, I've always been your favorite. You said so."

"And you will stay my favorite, Stevie. But I want to see those videos and Daniel has promised to help. I tell you what, if you don't want me to, I won't let him see the one where you and Kapena are running naked into the ocean."

"Oh, but we _**really **_need that one," Danny told her with a grin.

"Too funny, Boss," Kono laughed. "What were you, like two?"

"Oh, no, Sweetie," Auntie corrected her. "I think they were 14 or 15. And I've got the video of two of the cutest little butts I've ever seen."

The thunk of McGarrett's forehead hitting the table was heard over their peals of laughter.

~~~H50~~~

Two Saturdays later, Steve parked Danny's Camaro in the lot at the inn, and he, Danny and Grace exited the car. Danny reached in the back and pulled out a box filled with VHS tapes and new DVDs for Leilana. They took a seat in the garden and she saw them and waved, motioning for a waitress to go take their drink order.

She came to their table just as the drinks were being served, one hand rubbing Steve's shoulder as she sat down.

"Hey, Auntie."

"Hi, Baby." She looked to Danny and Grace and smiled. "And how are my prize students? Ready for another lesson?"

"NO!" Danny quickly replied and grinned, putting his hand over Grace's mouth so that she couldn't reply. "Thank you, but no," he emphatically stated.

They heard a commotion near the beach and someone shouted, "Dolphins!"

Grace turned around to look. "Cool," she said. "Danno, can we—"

"Come on, Grace," Steve stood up. "Those are spinners. Let's go down and watch. OK, Danny?"

"Sure," he replied. "Enjoy."

He took a drink from his beer and watched his partner and his daughter, walking hand in hand down to the beach before turning toward the woman seated next to him.

"Mrs. Yamanaka, may I ask you something?"

"Of course, Daniel. Ask me anything, but please call me 'Auntie'. Everyone does."

"What was he really like? You know—growing up?"

She turned toward the ocean as her memories came to the forefront of her mind. Then she smiled and slowly shook her head, still not looking at Danny. "My Stevie had a heart the size of a mountain. He got that from his mother. Just like her, he would go out of his way to help someone else. He always fought for the underdog… often times getting himself into trouble by doing so. And I wasn't kidding when talking about the messes those boys got into. Not with the law—they were good boys - but they sure could get themselves into some interesting situations." She turned and smiled at Danny, shaking her head. "I could write a book."

"Maybe you should," he agreed with a smile of his own. "Just change the names to protect the innocent."

She laughed at that. "Oh, they were by no means innocent." She thought for another moment and added, "I think what I miss the most is 'aka'aka… his laughter. Just like his mother, he was quick to laugh. He still smiles, but doesn't show happiness like he used to." She sighed and shook her head. "That disappeared when he was 16 and his mother died. And then shortly after that, he was gone, too. I don't know who was the saddest, Kapena or me when John sent those kids away. Steve's mother was my best friend, and I had just lost her. I felt like John snatched one of my own from me when he sent Steve away. But John thought he was doing what was right. Kapena grieved for weeks." She shook her head again and added, "We both did. Then, as soon as Kapena was old enough, he joined the Army. And then both my boys were gone."

"I'm sorry. Didn't mean to drag up old memories. Is Kapena still in the Army?"

"Yes, he is. Kapena is an Army Chaplain, stationed in Japan. And don't tell Steve, but he is coming back to visit in a couple of months. Steve will get to meet his namesake, my grandson Steven."

She looked at Danny and smiled. "And for a little while, I can spoil my two boys again. It's so good having Steve back on the island. You know, we really did run into each other in the market the other day. He wasn't lying to you when he told you that."

"I believe you, Auntie," Danny nodded. He pointed his finger in the direction of the ocean. "But that doesn't mean that your little Stevie didn't have an ulterior motive in all this. He is still not innocent."

"Don't I know it," she agreed. "He can be downright sneaky."

Danny grinned and touched her lightly on the arm. "Thank you…for, you know." He nodded once again toward Steve and Grace who were coming back toward them.

She nodded and smiled. "I know," she replied. "It's your job to take care of him now. As he will you."

"We will," Williams assured her. "Although that doesn't mean I don't want to hurt him on a daily basis."

"Oh, I remember that same feeling, Danny. Many a day I chased him with a spoon or a switch." She smiled once again before standing up. "He can bring out that quality, can't he?"

"You've sure got him pegged," Danny said with a grin. He reached for the box and showed her the CDs he had made for her, explaining how he labeled them.

Grace bounced back to the table. "That was cool, Danno."

"Well, I'm glad you got to see them."

Steve reached for one of the CDs. "Hey! Why does this have Chin's writing on it?"

"Um—"

Steve picked up a stack and rifled through them. "Chin, Chin, Kono, Kono, Chin." He looked at his partner, a suspicious gleam in his eye. "Who _**actually**_ made these CDs, Danny?"

"Well—"

"I thought so! You had help. Or, more than likely, _**they**_ did the work while you supervised." He sat down and tossed the CDs back into the box. "And I will assume that the three of you watched every tape, right?"

"The Fifth Amendment states—"

"I _**know**_ what the Fifth states. I assume you are copping to it?"

"I cannot affirm nor deny my involvement of said activity," Danny replied with a grin.

"I'll solve it right now," Lailana told them, pointing a finger at the two of them. "Steve, you don't hurt him. Danny, don't you embarrass my Steve with those movies. Do you both understand? If I hear otherwise, I will come after both of you."

Steve looked at the glare in her eye and then turned to his partner. "Trust me, man, she means it. I've seen the evil eye before."

She swatted him on the back. "I'll be right back with your lunch."

Danny made a face. "We didn't order."

"Oh, she said she wanted to surprise us," Steve explained to him. "In addition to being the best hula instructor on the island, she is one fantastic cook. That's what she does here when she isn't dancing."

Lailana walked back out to their table carrying a tray. "I hope you all enjoy. This is my favorite thing to make and it's a specialty of the house. I learned how to make it back in 1962 when the man who invented it visited Hawaii."

"Well, I'm starved," Danny replied with a smile. "So I can't wait."

She set a steaming pizza in the middle of the table. "Enjoy! Danny, you and Grace let me know what you think."

The smile faded when he saw bright yellow chunks intermingled with the ham and the cheese setting atop the tomato sauce. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak.

"Auntie! You remembered it was my favorite," Steve exclaimed, reaching for a piece and laying it on Grace's plate. "Gracie, you're gonna love it." He reached for a second piece and placed it in front of Danny, who was now giving him the death stare.

"Eat up, Danno. You won't believe how good this is." He snagged a piece of his own and took a bite, savoring the taste as he stared at his partner. With a smirk, he added, "Come on, you can't disappoint Auntie."

_8.18.11_

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